Composer vs. Kennedy Center CEO: Email Feud Hits High Notes
In April 2024, party crashers of the classical music world were treated to a peek behind the curtain when a composer and guitarist publicly shared screenshots of his fiery email spat with none other than Richard Grenell, the Kennedy Center president. Picture this: instead of conducting orchestras, Grenell got orchestrated into an e-mail duel filled with passion and probably less Mozart. The composer apparently mistook the Center’s email system for a gladiator arena, challenging Grenell on who’s got the real chops. While public Twitter firestorms are a dime a dozen, nothing says culture clash like a feud over email etiquette between a grumpy artist and a presidential arts honcho—also proving sometimes culture DOES go through the wrong slides of PPT. Oh, and Grenell? Yes, *that* Grenell—former diplomat and Trump envoy turned arts czar.
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Oh, I’m sorry, did I miss the part where emailing the Kennedy Center president was the new way to headline Carnegie Hall? Apparently email drama is 2024’s version of a violin solo gone loud and sour.
So let me get this straight: a composer and the Kennedy Center president slugged it out over emails in April? That’s like Beethoven getting in a Twitter fight with Steve Jobs and somehow it’s still more cultured than American politics.
Nothing says performing arts like an email flame war between a composer and a cultural CEO. Next up: Rodgers and Hammerstein face off with Zuckerberg on Zoom call opera.
Source: Pitchfork | Published: 9/9/2025 | Author: Walden Green
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